Some bands spend their whole careers just hoping to produce an album as complex, cohesive and creative as A FeverYouCan't Sweat Out. Not Panic!
At The Disco: They managed toget it right on the first try.

Before you grab a cold washcloth, let's diagnose what caused A Fever.

It all started in the suburbs of Las Vegas when 12-year-old Ryan Ross asked his parents for a guitar for Christmas. Not tobeoutdone, neighborhood pal
Spencer Smith begged hisparents for a drum set so the duo could start jamming. "Really, fromthatfirst year [playing instruments], all we really ...read more

Some bands spend their whole careers just hoping to produce an album as complex, cohesive and creative as A FeverYouCan't Sweat Out. Not Panic!
At The Disco: They managed toget it right on the first try.

Before you grab a cold washcloth, let's diagnose what caused A Fever.

It all started in the suburbs of Las Vegas when 12-year-old Ryan Ross asked his parents for a guitar for Christmas. Not tobeoutdone, neighborhood pal
Spencer Smith begged hisparents for a drum set so the duo could start jamming. "Really, fromthatfirst year [playing instruments], all we really did
was cover Blink 182 songs," remembers Spencer, laughing.Thebandeventually matured, moved on from all the small things and recruited classmates
Brent Wilson and Brendon Urie on bassandvocals, respectively.

With the final lineup now in place, the newly christened Panic! At The Disco (from a line in the Name Taken song"Panic")started practicing in Spencer's
grandmother's living room andbegan crafting the songs that would eventually maketheir wayonto A Fever You Can't Sweat Out. With their flair for
experimental instrumentation and intimately observant lyrics,itwasn'tlong before the band sparked the interest of Fall Out Boy's Pete Wentz, who
brought the band to Decaydance/FueledByRamen, a label with a green thumb for new talent. "Wereally clicked with [Decaydance/Fueled By Ramen]
andtheyunderstood what we wanted to do as a band," Ryan explains. "They gave us a lot of freedom to do what wouldmakeushappywith our music..

Soon after signing, things got serious and started moving forward at a rapid pace. Spencer and Brent finished highschoolthrough distance education;
Brendon was taking classesduring the day, practicing at night and barely scraping by hissenioryear; and Ryan decided to leave college at the end of
his freshman year, causing a huge rift between him andhisfamily."When I told my dad I wanted to drop out and write music, he definitely flipped out.
It was a battle between mebeing happyand doing what would make him happy." So minustheblessing of one father, the four friends packed up, left
homefor the firsttime and headed east to College Park, Maryland, to record their debut album with famed producer MattSquire(Thrice,Northstar, The
Receiving End Of Sirens).

"We didn't want to write a record that had 11 of the same songs on it," explains Ryan. In order to make sure thatdidn'thappen, the band came up with
the concept to divide the albumin two halves: the first being futuristic, complete withdrummachines and synthesizers, and the second being nostalgic,
complete with Vaudevillian piano and accordion. "Itwastooextremes of influence being put next to each other: the most electronic music we have on
the record and the mostold,out-of-style music we have on the record." The band tookpointers from some of their biggest?although not overt.
influences:Third Eye Blind's melodic song structures (on "But It's Better When We Do"), Queen's theatric instrumentation(on"Build God,Then We'll
Talk") and Counting Crows' vivid and narrative lyrics (on "There's A Good Reason These Tables AreNumberedHoney, You Just Haven't Thought Of It
Yet"). "Youwouldn't hear our record and say, 'Hmmm, these guys areinfluenced byFleetwood Mac or Counting Crows, 'but those are our favorite
bands," insists Spencer.

It's this split-brain approach to songwriting that has resonated with listeners young and old. The band has scored bigwithPureVolume (continually
being on the site's Top 10 SignedBands chart) and MySpace (reaching #1 on the indie charts),andwhen they returned to Las Vegas after recording,
they played a hometown show (actually, the band's first liveconcertever)and over two hundred people showed up. The boys' parents, especially Ryan's
father, realized the band wasmore than just afleeting hobby and eventually became card-carryingmembers of Panic! At The Disco's fan club.

Warning: Panic! At The Disco is not a trend. Prepare accordingly. « hide